Top 5 Things to Do in Metro Phoenix This Week

"Demystifying the New World of Publishing" @ Changing Hands Bookstore
Pamela Slim knows easy answers can be hard to find. The consultant and coach blogged about entrepreneurship for years before releasing her 2009 book, Escape from Cubicle Nation. Slim believes in teaching what people need to learn, so she her mentees complete a life plan long before start a business plan. Now that she's an author, she's cherry-picked good advice about that profession as well, and she's sharing it in a writing workshop at Changing Hands Bookstore on Monday, August 12.

"Demystifying the New World of Publishing" is about traditional, paper, self- and e-publishing. Whether you've written half a book or 20 of them, you'll pick up fresh tools and insight and enjoy your time with Slim, who is kind and encouraging when appropriate but also holds a red belt in mixed martial arts and has multilingually shared the transforming power of capoeira with San Francisco gang members.

The workshop runs from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at 6428 South McClintock Drive in Tempe. Admission is $25.

Call 480-730-0205 to register or visit www.changinghands.com for more info. -- Julie Peterson

Doug Benson @ Tempe Improv
Love movies? Love comedy? You might just love Doug Benson too. The Comedy Central star best known for his roles in Super High Me and The Benson Interruption brings his stand-up act and his podcast Doug Loves Movies to Tempe Improv .

Enjoy one night of stand-up laughs followed by another night of live recording for his weekly show. On Doug Loves Movies Benson talks about films, comedy, and everything in between with special guests and his audience, typically at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles. Past celebrity guests have included Zach Galifianakis, Sarah Silverman, Patton Oswalt, and Aziz Ansari.

Doug Benson delivers two nights of his comical stylings to 930 East University Drive. Benson takes his stand-up to the stage 8 p.m. Tuesday, August 13, and his live podcast recording begins at 8 p.m. August 14. Tickets are $17 and there's a two-drink minimum. Call 480-921-9877 or see www.tempeimprov.com. -- Katie Johnson

Sarah Hurwitz

Jackalope Ranch Presents Bingo @ Crescent Ballroom
Jackalope Ranch's first-ever bingo night was such a smashing success we ran outta playing cards. This month, armed with three emcees, 200 cards created by Phoenix artist Sarah Hurwitz, and a load of prizes from local businesses, the culture blog brings weekly bingo to Crescent Ballroom, 308 North Second Avenue.

Seriously. The last event was so big, this month's had to be moved from the lounge and into the ballroom, where tables will be set up for players to take a seat and take a chance at winning things like gift cards, theater tickets, and snack vouchers redeemable at the club. Play will be divided into 45-minute chunks, between which players can leave, join, or grab a cocktail. The one and only Tania Katan will take the stage on Wednesday, August 14, from 8 to 11 p.m. The funny folks from Torch Theater are on the mic August 21. And Arizona's resident hip-storian Marshall Shore will close out the month, reprising his role as original host, on August 28.

"Zoomorphic" @ ASU Art Museum
Bears, beets, Battlestar Galactica. We share with Dwight Schrute an affinity for just two of these things. Members of the genus ursus? No, thank you. We saw Grizzly Man. There is no going back.

But for art, we're willing to bend our no-bears policy just a smidge, as the animal-centric exhibition "Zoomorphic," on view through August 17 at ASU Art Museum, doesn't include live claw-wielding, sharp-toothed beasts. Instead, the show presents works in ceramics, painting, and print that combine animal forms and human ideas. For example, William Wegman's lithograph "Cub Scouts" shows two scenes: one of a bear frightening a pair of scouts, and another portraying a sout terrorizing a pair of cubs. Maybe we'll come around after all.

The exhibition is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, August 15, at 51 East 10th Street on ASU's Tempe campus. Admission is free. Visit www.asuartmuseum.asu.edu or call 480-965-2787. -- Becky Bartkowski

Michael Squire A-Game Photography

Phoenix FC vs. Rochester Rhinos @ Reach 11 Sports Complex
The Phoenix Wolves' July 31 loss to the Harrisburg City Islanders sealed their elimination from the USL Pro playoffs. The Valley-based footballers will attempt to end their inaugural season on a high note against fellow cellar dwellers, the Rochester Rhinos, on Friday, August 16.

The nighttime match against The Roc may be the last chance this season for a victory, but prospects for next year's season happening are looking brighter with some restructuring of resources. Another plus: counter to the Valley's rep as a haven for fairweather fans, the mob of self-organized Wolves fans, La Furia Roja 1881 (a.k.a. The Red Fury 1881), have remained pumped and rowdy, rain or shine.

The Phoenix Wolves battle the Rochester Rhinos starting at 7:30 p.m. at the Reach 11 Sports Complex, 2425 East Deer Valley Road. Admission is $9 and up. To purchase tickets in advance or for more info, visit www.phoenixfc.com. -- Jose Gonzalez